Running Water

This week our water supply turned off. That happens sometimes here. I heard from some people who live here that the longest it has been off was five days. This time it lasted less than 24 hours. We had plenty of drinking water stored under the sink (we never drink from the tap). And a 55 gallon plastic drum in the laundry room to use for the toilet and washing up. But still it got me to thinking.

I have so many things in my life that I take for granted. It wasn't too hard living without water for less than a day, but I realized there are so many things that I am able to do that I don't even think about. Like pressing a simple button to flush the toilet, or turning the tap on and immediately cleaning my hands after cooking, painting, or using the bathroom. We even have a filtered tap for drinking water on the campus. Not to mention-hot water whenever I need it to shower or wash my clothing. Even here in Ethiopia I have all those commodities, yet I can look out my window and see one room tin houses with dirt floors that most definitely don't have running water.

Rarely do I think about how blessed I am when I flush the toilet or when I drink a cup of water. However, in reality there are millions of people in this world who do not have this gift. My life is made so much easier and even healthier because of running water. There are so many other countless things that I have that other people only dream of having, even though technically as an almost college graduate I am living below the poverty line in the United States.

I'm not sure why our water was turned off for that time, but I am looking at it as a gift to me. A reminder of how blessed I am. A reminder of how much I really do have. A reminder of what God has provided me with. I don't know why I was born where I was born, or why I have been blessed with everything that God has given me. I just know I'm not meant to live my life taking everything I have for granted. Not having running water for a few hours has renewed my attitude of thankfulness to 

God (an attitude I will constantly need to renew as it becomes more natural to me).

But it has done more than remind me to be thankful and not take things for granted. It has also reminded me that what I am freely given is a gift that I should not selfishly keep to myself. For every gift God has given me there are thousands of people who don't have it. That does not mean that God does desire for others to have what I have, but it is an opportunity for me to remember that everything I have is actually on loan from God and become more aware of how I can bless others in return.